Big Daddy Farang - Professional Profile

Summary

IN THE BEGINNING
Big Daddy started programming BASIC in junior high, learning from existing code and learning PL/1 from a reference manual. His interests were then diverted to chemistry and photography among other things. In college, he took a course in BASIC and FORTRAN. Then four weeks of an all-day class in Pascal with some very bright students recaptured his interest in computer science. Then came traditional computer science courses and several independent study projects. He compressed his studies into five years and eventually escaped with a Physics/Computer Science degree in his hands. Unhappily it belonged to another student.

DOWN BY THE SEA
Big Daddy floundered for years in careers unrelated to his education, blaming everything but himself for not finding a real job. While earning a living in other careers, he did independent software projects on the side. He learned much during these years including the C language.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'
One day Big Daddy had an epiphany. He soon dropped out of work and went back to school. After completing a certificate course in UNIX/C/C++ he became one of those mid-life career changers. Out of the blue he got a call for an interview with a hardware software engineering consulting firm. Big Daddy started the next day as a Software Test Engineer. Before long he was rescued from the Island of Misfit Toys and abandoned on his first Windows application. Oh the horror.

ONWARD AND UPWARD
Soon after that ordeal, he found himself writing C++ control software for factory automation machines. After 3 years, a lay-off, and an extended vacation, he ended up using C, C++, and C# in the wonderful world of Digital Signage. Then that company filed Chapter 11 and he is currently writing software for a medical device manufacturer. How he yearns for his next career!

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